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5 spice honey chicken

Going to pick up my daughter from school, running a little late and expecting the traffic I see at the school doors. I take a quick look at the parking on the opposite side of the street and decide there can’t be an empty spot close to the school gates. I park my car far and walk the distance only to find 3 parking spaces exactly opposite the school gate. This little incidence made me think, isn’t it funny how our actions, even the small everyday ones we don’t think about reflect our attitude towards life? I hear you say, come on it is just a parking spot.

Let me explain.

I am the kind of person who likes to play it safe, risks are not my thing. I could have tried to drive by the school gate and check for a better parking spot but no. I decided to take the spot I found even if it was further away from the gate, even if it meant walking a longer distance. That spot was safe, was guaranteed.

Other people might insist on parking as close as possible to their destination, they are welling to drive by the school gate,once, twice, 4 times, ten times. As many times as it takes to find the spot they want. They are determined to get what they want even if it means driving around in circles for half the day.

Then there are those who park far on purpose, they are taking little steps to keep healthy. Parking far, taking the stairs, drinking their tea without sugar. On the surface their actions don’t make sense, who would park far and walk more but take a step closer, get to know them more and their actions even the simplest ones start making sense

Then you have those who see a spot and go for it,racing to beat other cars to it.They are so focused on that one that they miss other parking spots, better parking spots, parking spots they didn’t even see because they narrowed down their vision, their focus on that one goal, one destination, one parking spot.

Am I making any sense? or is the school run getting to my head?If this makes any sense to you then tell me..how do you usually park your car?

If parking spots don’t make sense, I know this recipe does. You know when you read a recipe and just KNOW you’ll love it. Then you make it and it is everything you expect and more?

This is what happened to me with this recipe. I saw it in Women’s weekly magazine and though I was planning to make chicken tikka,I changed my mind. You have to keep in mind that I am someone who has bought their first jar of 5 spice this week but the minute I opened it I fell in love with its smell and flavor combo and the idea of adding it to chicken with honey made sense because there is a definite sweet note in it. Then there was the soya sauce to counter the sweetness. The ginger to liven things up. In short, the recipe made sense and I had to try it.

I stuck to the recipe except for the fact that I doubled the marinade using half as an actual marinade and the other half to make a sauce.I also served it with a corn and avocado salsa as opposed to the grilled bok choy suggested in the recipe.

The verdict: a definite keeper. The smell of it in the oven alone is worth making it, the taste is even better.

Before we get to the recipe I just want to remind you to enter the giveaway if you haven’t already.

5 spice honey chicken

3 single chicken breast fillets

For the marinade (I doubled this)

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup (80 ml)soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon five spice powder

1/2 teaspoon powder ginger

For sauce

1 cup chicken stock

2 teaspoons cornflour

2 tablespoons water

Combine the marinade ingredients and add the chicken fillets, toss to coat, marinade for 30 minutes.

Drain the chicken and cook on a lightly oiled grill (or grill or barbecue) until browned on both sides and cooked through. (I sometimes just grill them enough to get the grill marks on both sides then finish cooking them for 10 or 15 minutes in the oven)

Allow to stand for 5 -10 minutes before slicing

Next add the second batch of marinade into a small saucepan , add chicken stock; bring to a boil

Stir in the blended cornflour and water, cook stirring until sauce boils and thickens.

44Comments

Oh, I’m right there with ya. I’m not known to be a risk-taker, but since I moved to LA, I’ve got to be a bit of one. Parking is always a battle in LA, especially during the holidays, so you’ve got to be aggressive. Not saying I enjoy this aspect though! Anyways, this chicken sounds fabulous. Great combination of flavors. 🙂

You know, I loved your little car park story. How do I park my car? It usually works in the first attempt to reverse park my car behind a car, but because I’m still on a Learners License, it means that whenever I find a huuuge spot that’s free, I go for it! It can be close, far, weird, creepy, I don’t care, as long as I don’t need to get frustrated in order to park my car 🙂

My mum is a huge fan of fice spice and gace me some when I was in London a short while back. I haven´t used it yet as I wasn´t too sure what I wanted to do with it…this looks like the amswer. My freezer is newly restocked with our chickens and I adore dishes with marinade and extra sauce! Thanks for another lovely recipe 🙂

I, too, have never bought 5 spice, not knowing what to do with it if I had. Now, though, I have a great recipe on which to try it. And your salsa looks so fresh & inviting! Thanks for sharing both, Sawsan.

I’m with you Sawsan; my husband and I have a little saying when we spy a parking spot, we say “bird in hand” actually, we’ve shortened it to just “bird” and we know. If we see a better spot, I sometimes joke that he should go back and get the car — but am I joking? The honey chicken looks delicious, although probably a little sweet for our taste. I do love the colours of your avocado salsa. I bet the kids really loved this meal (my mom used to make a similar dish but she sprinkled toasted sesame seeds on it, we went wild for it!).
I love the way you prop your shots, very professional and pertinent to the subject. Nice work.

Thank you very much Eva, I a doing my best to improve my photography,reading alot and practicing alot. It really makes my day when someone notices the changes.
As for the meal, the kids realy enjoyed it, they are big on the sweet and sour combo

This is a beautiful presentation! And I know my kids would be crazy about this meal. They love chicken, honey, corn and avocado. I know I’ll be making this one. 🙂 As for parking the car…I usually look for a close spot and if I don’t see one, just go straight for the far one and take the walk. Is that an all-or-nothing approach? Hmmm.

This is such a great meal. I only park far away when the spaces are close, which they usually are. Down here everyone has a truck and I end up needing to park farther away just to be able to get out my compact car. I don’t worry about them hitting me, people care about their trucks, they just take up the whole space. Wow, you struck a nerve with me on parking! Have a great weekend.

My friend, in addition to the lovely recipe, I think you beautifully and very intelligently summarized people’s attitudes and philosophies towards life. I hope you find your perfect “Parking spot” in life, because you deserve the best!

Ha! That’s funny, because I would have driven right to the front hoping for a little magic to happen. Most of the time, though, no magic so I think playing it safe has its merit. This chicken looks incredible…so incredible it is making me drool…right here at my desk. Not appropriate.

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